Semiconductor device, method of manufacturing thereof, signal transmission/reception method using such semiconductor device, and tester apparatus

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device ( 100 ) includes: a substrate ( 102 ); a bonding pad ( 110 ) provided above the substrate ( 102 ); and an inductor ( 112 ) provided above the substrate ( 102 ) and below the bonding pad ( 110 ) for carrying out signal transmission/reception to/from the external in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a method ofmanufacturing thereof, a signal transmission/reception method using sucha semiconductor device, and a tester apparatus.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, semiconductor devices are known which conduct datacommunication by wireless communication.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-134694 discloses asemiconductor device for communicating data by an electromagneticinduction system. The semiconductor device has a coil antenna and asemiconductor integrated circuit connected to the coil antenna. When acoil antenna connected to a reader/writer is brought close to thesemiconductor device, the coil antenna connected to the reader/writergenerates an AC magnetic field. The AC magnetic field penetrates thecoil antenna in the semiconductor device. An electromotive force isgenerated between terminals of the antenna by electromagnetic induction,and the semiconductor integrated circuit in the semiconductor deviceoperates.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-311331 discloses astructure in which an integrated circuit and an antenna are formed onthe same substrate, and a conductive wire or a conductive film includedin the antenna is formed in two layers so as to sandwich the substratehaving the integrated circuit formed thereon. Therein, an example isdescribed in which the two layers of the conductive wire are an antennafor supplying power to the integrated circuit and an antenna fortransmitting/receiving a signal, respectively.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-228785 discloses astructure in which a coil antenna is disposed in a region outside anouter periphery of a circuit of a semiconductor chip. Japanese PatentApplication Laid-open No. 2005-30877 discloses a technique in which abuilt-in test circuit and a wireless communication circuit are mountedin a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and the built-in testcircuit is controlled by a radio signal to conduct a test.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Translation Publication No.2006-504274 discloses a structure in which a conductive structure isprovided as a passive component for mechanically stabilizing aninsulation layer against mechanical force in bonding a conductivebonding pad layer. Here, the passive component included in an analogcircuit is provided under the bonding pad layer, and a screening layerfor preventing coupling of the passive component and the bonding padlayer is provided between the passive component and the bonding padlayer.

The present inventor has recognized as follows. Conventionally, in orderto test an internal circuit at a wafer level of a semiconductor device,power is supplied through probing with a probe to a pad for a powersource on a surface of a chip of the semiconductor device, and a signalis transmitted/received with a pad for a signal via a probe to testoperation of the internal circuit. However, the pad is scratched by aneedle of the probe during a probe test, which causes poor connection inbonding the pad later, or, which causes contamination due to shavings ofthe pad. Further, as the chip size decreases and as the number of padsper chip increases, the pad size and the pitch between the padsdecrease, and thus, satisfactory electrical connection between multiplepads and corresponding multiple probe needles becomes difficultaccordingly.

In order to avoid such problems, it is preferred to carry out powersupply and signal transmission/reception with respect to the internalcircuit in a non-contact manner. However, in order to carry outtransmission/reception of various kinds of signals from/to the internalcircuit using, for example, electromagnetic induction instead of aplurality of pads so as to correspond to input/output signals to/fromthe plurality of pads, multiple inductors are necessary, and thus, alarge footprint is necessary for the inductors. As disclosed in JapanesePatent Application Laid-open Nos. 2007-134694, 2005-311331, and2005-228785, in a structure in which a coil antenna for signaltransmission/reception is disposed on an outer periphery of a chip,multiple antennas can not be disposed. Further, in the techniquedisclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-30877, onlya case in which one coil for an antenna is disposed with respect to onechip is assumed, and a carrier wave of a radio signal input from theexternal is used to generate power. Still further, in the passivecomponent disclosed in Japanese Patent Translation Publication No.2006-504274, a radio signal is not assumed to be input/output from/tothe external and the screening layer is provided between the passivecomponent and the bonding pad layer such that a signal can not beinput/output from/to the external.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided asemiconductor device, including:

a substrate;

a bonding pad provided above the substrate; and

a first signal transmitting/receiving portion provided above thesubstrate and below the bonding pad for carrying out signaltransmission/reception to/from an external in a non-contact manner byelectromagnetic induction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda signal transmission/reception method including:

bringing close to a semiconductor device an external device in anon-contact manner, the semiconductor device including a substrate, abonding pad provided above the substrate, and a first signaltransmitting/receiving portion provided above the substrate and belowthe bonding pad for carrying out signal transmission/reception to/froman external in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction, theexternal device including a first external signal transmitting/receivingportion provided at a location corresponding to the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion for carrying out signaltransmission/reception to/from the first signal transmitting/receivingportion in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction; and

carrying out the signal transmission/reception between the firstexternal signal transmitting/receiving portion and the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including:

bringing close to the semiconductor device an external device in anon-contact manner, the semiconductor device including a substratehaving a chip formation region and a scribe line region provided on anouter periphery of the chip formation region, a bonding pad providedabove the substrate, and a first signal transmitting/receiving portionprovided above the substrate and below the bonding pad for carrying outsignal transmission/reception to/from an external in a non-contactmanner by electromagnetic induction, the external device including afirst external signal transmitting/receiving portion provided at alocation corresponding to the first signal transmitting/receivingportion for carrying out signal transmission/reception to/from the firstsignal transmitting/receiving portion in a non-contact manner byelectromagnetic induction;

carrying out the signal transmission/reception between the firstexternal signal transmitting/receiving portion and the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion;

cutting the semiconductor device along the scribe line region intochips; and

connecting the bonding pad to an external terminal via a bonding wire ineach of the chips formed by cutting the semiconductor device.

With such a structure, the chip size is not required to be increased inorder to provide the signal transmitting/receiving portion. Further, thesignal transmitting/receiving portion and the bonding pad can beefficiently disposed, and increase in chip size can be suppressed. Here,the signal transmitting/receiving portion can be provided instead of apad for probing with a probe when a test of an internal circuit of thesemiconductor device is conducted at a wafer level. Conventionally, itis necessary to provide a region for the probe and a region for wirebonding in a bonding pad, which increases the size of the bonding pad.However, according to the structure of the present invention, because itis not necessary to provide the region for a probe, the area of thebonding pad can be decreased, and, as a whole, increase in chip size canbe greatly suppressed.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a tester apparatus for testing a semiconductor device, thesemiconductor device including a substrate, a bonding pad provided abovethe substrate, and a first signal transmitting/receiving portionprovided above the substrate and below the bonding pad for carrying outsignal transmission/reception to/from an external in a non-contactmanner by electromagnetic induction, the tester apparatus including afirst external signal transmitting/receiving portion provided at alocation corresponding to the first signal transmitting/receivingportion for carrying out signal transmission/reception to/from the firstsignal transmitting/receiving portion in a non-contact manner byelectromagnetic induction.

By using a tester with such a structure, a signal transmitting/receivingportion provided instead of a pad for probing with a probe when a testof an internal circuit is conducted at a wafer level can be used toconduct a test of the semiconductor device in a non-contact manner.

It is to be noted that arbitrary combinations of the above-mentionedcomponents, and the implementation of the present invention in the formof a method, an apparatus, or the like are also effective as embodimentsof the present invention.

According to the present invention, increase in chip size can besuppressed when signal transmission/reception to/from the external iscarried out in a non-contact manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following description ofcertain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the semiconductor device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another plan view of the semiconductor device illustrated inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a structure of the semiconductordevice illustrated in FIG. 1 and a tester for transmitting/receiving asignal to/from the semiconductor device;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary structure of thesemiconductor device and the tester;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view illustrating a structure of the semiconductordevice illustrated in FIG. 6 and a tester for transmitting/receiving asignal to/from the semiconductor device;

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an exemplary structure of a semiconductordevice according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an exemplary structure of a semiconductordevice according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 11A and 11B are sectional views taken along the line B-B′ of FIG.10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the presentinvention are now described. It is to be noted that like or identicalconstituting elements are denoted by like reference numerals throughoutthe drawings, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a case is described as anexample in which a signal transmitting/receiving portion is providedinstead of a pad provided for the purpose of probing with a probe when atest of an internal circuit of a semiconductor device is conducted at awafer level. When a test of an internal circuit of a semiconductordevice is conducted at a wafer level, the signal transmitting/receivingportion transmits/receives various kinds of test signals to/from anexternal tester by short distance communication in a non-contact manner.In the embodiments of the present invention, the signaltransmitting/receiving portion may be an inductor.

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate an exemplary structure of a semiconductor device100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 isa sectional view of the semiconductor device 100 and FIGS. 2 and 3 areplan views of the semiconductor device 100. FIG. 1 is a sectional viewtaken along the line A-A′ of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the semiconductor device 100 includes asemiconductor substrate 102 (substrate) and an insulating film 104provided on the semiconductor substrate 102. The semiconductor device100 also includes inductors 112 (first signal transmitting/receivingportion) provided in the insulating film 104 on the semiconductorsubstrate 102, and bonding pads 110 provided above the semiconductorsubstrate 102 so as to be superimposed on the inductors 112. Here, thesemiconductor device 100 may be in a state before the semiconductorsubstrate 102 is divided into chips. The semiconductor substrate 102 maybe, for example, a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer.

The inductors 112 carry out signal transmission/reception to/from anexternal in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction. Theinductors 112 may be provided instead of pads provided in a conventionalsemiconductor device for the purpose of probing with a probe when a testof an internal circuit is conducted at a wafer level. Conventionally,when probing is conducted with a probe, the pad is scratched, and, whenbonding is carried out at the scratched portion, poor connection of thebonding is caused. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a region for aprobe and a region for wire bonding, which increases the size of thepad. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the bonding pads110 is required to include only a region for wire bonding, and hence thesize of the pads may be smaller than that of conventional pads. Further,the inductors 112 are formed to be smaller than the bonding pads 110 ina plan view, and thus it is not necessary to make the chip size largerin order to provide the inductors 112. It is to be noted that, accordingto this embodiment, the inductors 112 may be formed of a conductor whichis formed of a single layer. This enables reducing the size of theinductors 112.

The bonding pads 110 are provided on a surface of the semiconductordevice 100 in preparation for wire bonding to be carried out later. Thebonding pads 110 are, after the semiconductor substrate 102 is cut intochips, mounted on another substrate such as a motherboard, and areconnected to terminals of the substrate via bonding wires (not shown). Asignal from the external is input to the bonding pads 110 via thebonding wires. In this embodiment, the bonding pads 110 are provided onthe insulating film 104 and are exposed on the surface of thesemiconductor device 100.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically illustrating the surface of thesemiconductor device 100.

It is to be noted that, only one chip formation region is illustratedhere, but the semiconductor device 100 may include a plurality ofsimilar chip formation regions surrounded by a scribe line.

The semiconductor device 100 further includes an internal circuit 124formed on the semiconductor substrate 102 and a power supply circuit120. The internal circuit 124 includes a plurality of input/outputterminals 124 a. In this embodiment, an inductor 112 and a correspondingbonding pad 110 superimposed on the inductor 112 may be adapted to beconnected to an identical input/output terminal 124 a of the internalcircuit 124. Further, the power supply circuit 120 is connected to anyone of the input/output terminals 124 a of the internal circuit 124.

Here, the inductors 112 are illustrated by solid lines in order toclarify a relationship between the bonding pads 110 and the inductors112 in the plan view. However, actually, the inductors 112 are providedin a layer which is different from a layer in which the bonding pads 110are provided. Further, the power supply circuit 120 and the internalcircuit 124 are also illustrated by solid lines, but, actually, thepower supply circuit 120 and the internal circuit 124 may also beprovided in a layer which is different from the layer in which thebonding pads 110 are provided. The internal circuit 124 may be adaptedto include, for example, a transistor.

FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically illustrating a structure of thelayer in which the inductors 112 of the semiconductor device 100 areprovided. The inductors 112 may be in a coil shape. Here, in order toclarify the relationship between the bonding pads 110 and the inductors112 in the plan view, the bonding pads 110 are illustrated by brokenlines. Further, the power supply circuit 120 and the internal circuit124 are illustrated by solid lines, but, actually, the power supplycircuit 120 and the internal circuit 124 may be provided in a layerwhich is different from the layer in which the inductors 112 areprovided.

For example, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, nine bondingpads 110 are provided on the surface of the semiconductor device 100,and one inductor 112 is provided under each of the bonding pads 110. Theinput/output terminals 124 a of the internal circuit 124 are connectedto pairs of the bonding pads 110 and the inductors 112, respectively.

The size of the inductors 112 may be substantially the same as that ofthe bonding pads 110 in the plan view. Specifically, the inductors 112may be provided such that the size thereof is not excessively large withrespect to the size of the bonding pads 110. This can suppress increasein chip size due to provision of the inductors 112. In this embodiment,the area occupied by each inductor 112 is smaller than the area occupiedby each bonding pad 110. It is to be noted that, the bonding pads 110are required to include only the region for wire bonding, and hence thesize of the bonding pads 110 can be smaller than the size ofconventional bonding pads. Such a structure described above makes itpossible to efficiently dispose the bonding pads 110 and the inductors112, and the increase in chip size can be suppressed.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a structure of a tester 200 forsupplying a signal to the semiconductor device 100 and the semiconductordevice 100.

The tester 200 includes a substrate 202 on a tester side and a pluralityof inductors 210 on the tester side. The plurality of inductors 210 onthe tester side are provided at locations corresponding to the pluralityof inductors 112 of the semiconductor device 100, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary structure of thesemiconductor device 100 and the tester 200.

The internal circuit 124 may include a plurality of transistors 126corresponding to the plurality of inductors 112. Gates of thetransistors 126 are connected to the pairs of the bonding pads 110 andthe inductors 112, respectively. Here, a bonding pad 110 may be providedso as to be superimposed on an inductor 112 surrounded by an identicalbroken line which surrounds the bonding pad 110. The gates of thetransistors 126 correspond to the input/output terminals 124 a,respectively.

One of a source and a drain of each of the transistors 126 is grounded,and the other is connected to the power supply circuit 120 via a powersupply line 128. A rear surface of the semiconductor substrate 102 maybe grounded such that the one of the source and the drain of each of thetransistors 126 is grounded by being connected to the rear surface ofthe semiconductor substrate 102.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, operation when a test of theinternal circuit 124 of the semiconductor device 100 is conducted at awafer level in this embodiment is described.

First, the tester 200 is brought close to one of the chips of thesemiconductor device 100 in a non-contact manner so that the inductors210 on the tester side of the tester 200 are opposed to the inductors112 of the semiconductor device 100, respectively. Then, radio waveshaving predetermined frequencies are output from the inductors 210 onthe tester side, respectively, of the tester 200 to the semiconductordevice 100. Here, test signals are output from the inductors 210 on thetester side, and power supply voltage is supplied from the power supplycircuit 120 to the internal circuit 124.

The inductors 112 of the semiconductor device 100 convert signals outputfrom the inductors 210 on the tester side into AC electrical signals.Although not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the semiconductor device 100 may beadapted to include conversion circuits which correspond to the inductors112, respectively. In this case, the inductors 112 may be adapted to beconnected to the input/output terminals 124 a via the conversioncircuits, respectively. The conversion circuits demodulate the ACelectrical signals converted by the inductors 112 and supply thedemodulated signals to the internal circuit 124. When a signal is outputfrom the semiconductor device 100 to the tester 200, an electricalsignal supplied by the internal circuit 124 is modulated by theconversion circuits and is supplied to the inductors 112. The inductors112 output the modulated signals as radio waves to correspondinginductors 210 on the tester side of the tester 200, respectively. Inthis way, data is transmitted/received between the semiconductor device100 and the tester 200.

After a test of the internal circuit 124 is conducted at a wafer levelas described above, the semiconductor device 100 is cut along scribeline regions into chips. In each of the chips formed by cutting thesemiconductor device 100, by connecting the bonding pads 110 to externalterminals via the bonding wires, a semiconductor package is formed.After that, signals are input from the external via the bonding wires,respectively, and the signals are input to the internal circuit 124. Inthis embodiment, an inductor 112 and a corresponding bonding pad 110superimposed on the inductor 112 are connected to an identicalinput/output terminal 124 a of the internal circuit 124. Therefore, whena test of the internal circuit 124 is conducted at a wafer level,signals may be adapted to be input/output to/from the input/outputterminals 124 a via the inductors 112, respectively, and, after thechips are formed, signals may be adapted to be input/output to/from theinput/output terminals 124 a via the bonding pads 110, respectively.This makes it possible to use the inductors 112 instead of padsconventionally provided for the purpose of probing with a probe when atest of the internal circuit is conducted at a wafer level.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when a test of theinternal circuit 124 is conducted at a wafer level, unlike aconventional case in which a probe is used to probe the bonding pads110, the tester 200 including the inductors 210 on the tester side isused to transmit/receive signals to/from the inductors 112 of thesemiconductor device 100 in a non-contact manner. The signalstransmitted/received between the tester 200 and the inductors 112 of thesemiconductor device 100 are input/output to/from the internal circuit124 via the inductors 112. After the test is completed and thesemiconductor device 100 is cut into chips, the bonding pads 110 areconnected to the external terminals via the bonding wires, respectively.The signals transmitted/received to/from the external terminals areinput/output to/from the internal circuit 124 via the bonding wires andthe bonding pads 110, respectively. Specifically, in this embodiment,the inductors 112 are provided for the purpose of inputting/outputtingsignals transmitted/received to/from an external device such as thetester 200 to/from the internal circuit 124. Therefore, the inductors112 are adapted to transmit/receive the signals to/from the externaldevice in a non-contact manner. More specifically, in this embodiment,no member which interrupts signal transmission/reception to/from theinductors 112 may be adapted to be provided between the bonding pads 110and the inductors 112.

Next, effects of the semiconductor device 100 according to thisembodiment are described.

According to the structure of the semiconductor device 100 of thisembodiment, the inductors 112 and the bonding pads 110 can beefficiently disposed, which can suppress the increase in chip size. Inparticular, it is not necessary to make larger the chip size in order todispose inductors serving as terminals used only for non-contact testingat a wafer level. Further, the size of the bonding pads 110 can also bemade smaller, and, as a whole, the increase in chip size can be greatlysuppressed.

Further, the inductors 112 according to this embodiment can be formed ofa conductor which is formed of a single layer, which enablescompactness. In this embodiment, the inductors 112 are used for shortdistance communication, and hence a very high Q value is not necessary,and thus, even if the inductors 112 are formed of a conductor which isformed of a single layer, signals can be transmitted/received withoutany problems.

Next, other embodiments of the semiconductor device 100 according to thepresent invention are described.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device 100 according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

This embodiment is different from the embodiment described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 5 in that a plurality of inductors are providedunder each of the bonding pads 110.

An inductor 112 c, an inductor 112 b, and an inductor 112 a are stackedabove the semiconductor substrate 102 in this order. The inductor 112 c,the inductor 112 b, and the inductor 112 a may be inductors which areindependent of one another such that phases of signals detected by therespective inductors are different from one another. Here, a pluralityof inductors (inductor 112 c, inductor 112 b, and inductor 112 a) areprovided similarly under each of the bonding pads 110.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view illustrating a structure of a tester 200 forsupplying a signal to the semiconductor device 100 and the semiconductordevice 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

When the semiconductor device 100 has the structure as illustrated inFIG. 6, the tester 200 also includes a plurality of inductors providedso as to be stacked at locations corresponding to the stacked inductorsof the semiconductor device 100. Specifically, the tester 200 includes aplurality of inductors, i.e., an inductor 210 c on the tester side, aninductor 210 b on the tester side, and an inductor 210 a on the testerside which are stacked in the substrate 202 in this order so as to besuperimposed on one another in the plan view. Here, the inductor 210 con the tester side, the inductor 210 b on the tester side, and theinductor 210 a on the tester side may be adapted to correspond to theinductor 112 c, the inductor 112 b, and the inductor 112 a of thesemiconductor device 100, respectively. More specifically, the inductor210 c on the tester side and the inductor 112 c may be adapted totransmit/receive a signal having the same phase, the inductor 210 b onthe tester side and the inductor 112 b may be adapted totransmit/receive a signal having the same phase, and the inductor 210 aon the tester side and the inductor 112 a may be adapted totransmit/receive a signal having the same phase. Even in such a casedescribed above in which the plurality of inductors are disposed so asto be stacked, by shifting the phases of the signals to betransmitted/received, interference among the inductors can be prevented.

It is to be noted that, as illustrated in this embodiment, when theplurality of inductors 112 a to 112 c are adapted to be stacked undereach of the bonding pads 110, it is not necessary that all of thestacked inductors 112 a to 112 c be connected to the input/outputterminals 124 a of the internal circuit 124 connected to thecorresponding bonding pads 110, respectively. Only part of the stackedplurality of inductors 112 a to 112 c can be used when a test of theinternal circuit 124 is conducted via the input/output terminal 124 awhich is connected to the bonding pad 110 formed there above while theremaining inductors are used for input/output of signals to/from otherterminals.

Also in this embodiment, each of the inductors 112 a to 112 c may beformed of a conductor which is formed of a single layer. The stackedinductors 112 a to 112 c are not electrically connected to one another.In this embodiment, the inductors 112 a to 112 c are used for shortdistance communication, and hence a very high Q value is not necessary.Therefore, even if the inductors are formed of a conductor which isformed of a single layer, signals can be transmitted/received withoutany problems.

FIG. 8A is a sectional view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device 100 according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

In this embodiment, a plurality of inductors are provided below each ofthe bonding pads 110 similarly to the case illustrated in FIG. 6, butthis embodiment is different from the embodiment described withreference to FIG. 6 in that the inductors are provided at locationsshifted from one another in the plan view.

FIG. 8B is a sectional view illustrating a structure of a tester 200 forsupplying a signal to the semiconductor device 100 according to thethird embodiment of the present invention.

When the semiconductor device 100 has the structure as illustrated inFIG. 8A, inductors of the tester 200 are provided at locationscorresponding to the inductor 112 a, the inductor 112 b, and theinductor 112 c of the semiconductor device 100, which are shifted fromone another in the plan view. Here, the inductor 210 c on the testerside, the inductor 210 b on the tester side, and the inductor 210 a onthe tester side may be adapted to input/output signals to/from theinductor 112 c, the inductor 112 b, and the inductor 112 a,respectively, of the semiconductor device 100. Such a structuredescribed above can make easier communication between an inductor of thesemiconductor device 100 and an inductor of the tester 200 whichtransmits/receives a signal having the same phase.

FIG. 9A is a plan view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device 100 according to a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention.

In this embodiment, similarly to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8Aand 8B, a plurality of inductors are provided at locations shifted fromone another in the plan view, but this embodiment is different from theembodiment described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B in that theinductors are provided so as not to overlap one another in the planview. Further, part of the inductors lie off an outer edge of each ofthe bonding pads 110 in the plan view.

FIG. 9B is a sectional view also illustrating a structure of a tester200 for supplying a signal to the semiconductor device 100 according tothe fourth embodiment of the present invention.

When the semiconductor device 100 has the structure as illustrated inFIG. 9A, inductors of the tester 200 are provided at locationscorresponding to the inductor 112 a, the inductor 112 b, and theinductor 112 c of the semiconductor device 100. Here, the inductor 210 con the tester side, the inductor 210 b on the tester side, and theinductor 210 a on the tester side may be adapted to input/output signalsto/from the inductor 112 c, the inductor 112 b, and the inductor 112 a,respectively, of the semiconductor device 100. Such a structuredescribed above can make easier communication between an inductor of thesemiconductor device 100 and an inductor of the tester 200 whichtransmits/receives a signal having the same phase. Further, also in thiscase, because the inductors are provided so as to be superimposed oneach of the bonding pads 110 in the semiconductor device 100, increasein chip size can also be suppressed.

FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating an exemplary structure of asemiconductor device 100 according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 11A and 11B are sectional views taken along the lineB-B′ of FIG. 10.

In this embodiment, a plurality of (four) inductors, i.e., an inductor112 d, an inductor 112 e, an inductor 112 f, and an inductor 112 g areformed under each of the bonding pads 110. The inductor 112 d, theinductor 112 e, the inductor 112 f, and the inductor 112 g are formed inthe same layer.

FIG. 11B is a sectional view also illustrating a structure of a tester200 for supplying a signal to the semiconductor device 100 according tothe fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Here, only an inductor 210 f on the tester side and an inductor 210 d onthe tester side which correspond to the inductors 112 f and 112 d,respectively, are illustrated, but the tester 200 includes a pluralityof (four) inductors provided at locations corresponding to the inductor112 d, the inductor 112 e, the inductor 112 f, and the inductor 112 g,respectively, of the semiconductor device 100. When the size of theinductors is smaller than that of the bonding pads 110, such adisposition described above can further suppress increase in chip size.

The embodiments according to the present invention have been describedabove with reference to the drawings, but those embodiments onlyexemplify the present invention and various structures other than theabove may also be adopted.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the case has been describedin which the signal transmitting/receiving portion such as the inductorsare used when, in a test of the internal circuit of the semiconductordevice which is conducted at a wafer level, various test signals arereceived/transmitted from/to an external tester in a non-contact manner,but the present invention may also be used when, after chips are formed,various kinds of signals are transmitted/received in a non-contactmanner.

Further, it is not necessary that the signal transmitting/receivingportion be provided under all the bonding pads 110 included in thesemiconductor device 100. Further, a plurality of stacked or overlappingsignal transmitting/receiving portions may be provided under only partof the bond in a pads 110. Still further, it is not necessary that allthe signal transmitting/receiving portions such as the inductorsprovided under the bonding pads 110 be used for wireless communicationwith an external device such as the tester 200. In this case, as amatter of course, the tester 200 also does not include an inductor onthe tester side which corresponds to a signal transmitting/receivingportion which is not used for wireless communication.

It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the aboveembodiments, but may be modified and changed without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention.

1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate; a bonding padprovided above the substrate; a first signal transmitting/receivingportion provided above the substrate and below the bonding pad; and aninternal circuit comprising a plurality of transistors provided on thesubstrate, wherein said first signal transmitting/receiving portioncomprises an inductor, and the bonding pad and the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion are electrically connected, wherein agate of each of the transistors is coupled to the bonding pad and theinductor, and wherein one of a source and a drain of said each of thetransistors is grounded, and another one of the source and the drain ofsaid each of the transistors is coupled to a power supply circuit.
 2. Asemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the internal circuitcomprises an input/output terminal, and wherein the bonding pad and thefirst signal transmitting/receiving portion are electrically connectedto the input/output terminal of the internal circuit.
 3. A semiconductordevice according to claim 1, further comprising a second signaltransmitting/receiving portion provided above the substrate and belowthe bonding pad for carrying out signal transmission/reception to/froman external device in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction.4. A semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion and the second signaltransmitting/receiving portion are provided in a same layer.
 5. Asemiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion and the second signaltransmitting/receiving portion are provided in different layers.
 6. Asemiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion and the second signaltransmitting/receiving portion are provided one above another.
 7. Asemiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein the first signaltransmitting/receiving portion and the second signaltransmitting/receiving portion detect signals in different phases.
 8. Asemiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein each of the firstsignal transmitting/receiving portion and the second signaltransmitting/receiving portion comprises a conductor which comprises asingle layer.
 9. A semiconductor device according to claim 3, whereinthe first signal transmitting/receiving portion and the second signaltransmitting/receiving portion comprise a plurality of ones of saidinductor.
 10. A semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein thefirst signal transmitting/receiving portion comprises a conductor whichcomprises a single layer.
 11. A semiconductor device according to claim1, further comprising: an insulating film formed on a surface of thesubstrate, said first signal transmitting/receiving portion beingembedded within the insulating film.
 12. A semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 11, wherein said first signal transmitting/receivingportion is confined within the insulating film such that the insulatingfilm covers exposed surfaces of said first signal transmitting/receivingportion.
 13. A semiconductor device according to claim 11, wherein thebonding pad abuts the insulating film.
 14. A semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the bonding pad includes a region for wirebonding rather than a region for a probe.
 15. A semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor device comprises aplurality of ones of the bonding pad.
 16. A semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 15, wherein said semiconductor device comprises aplurality of ones of said first signal transmitting/receiving portion,and wherein, in a plan view, each of the plurality of ones of said firstsignal transmitting/receiving portion superimposes inside acorresponding one of the plurality of ones of the bonding pad.
 17. Asemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductordevice comprises a plurality of ones of the bonding pad, wherein theplurality of ones of the bonding pad is mountable on, and connected to,an other substrate.
 18. A semiconductor device according to claim 1,wherein the internal circuit comprises a plurality of input/outputterminals, said semiconductor device further comprising: a plurality ofones of the bonding pad; and a plurality of ones of said first signaltransmitting/receiving portion, wherein each one of the plurality ofones of said first signal transmitting/receiving portion and acorresponding one of the plurality of ones of the bonding pad areconnected to one of said plurality of input/output terminals.
 19. Asemiconductor device according to claim 18, wherein the plurality oftransistors corresponds to the plurality of ones of said first signaltransmitting/receiving portion, and wherein gates of the transistors areconnected to corresponding pairs of one of the plurality of ones of thebonding pad and one of the plurality of ones of said first signaltransmitting/receiving portion.
 20. A semiconductor device according toclaim 1, further comprising: an insulating film formed on the substrate,said first signal transmitting/receiving portion being embedded withinthe insulating film, wherein a bottom surface of the bonding pad abutsan upper surface of the insulating film.